OSHA has released a newly revised directive as guidance for the marine cargo handling industry. The enforcement is aimed at eliminating their workplace hazards and includes requirements on updated personal protective equipment (PPE) and the safe operation of Vertical Tandem Lifts (VTL).

Some of the updates in the document include:

• clarification that PPE that employers must provide at no cost to their workers, when employers must pay for replacement PPE, and when employers are not required to pay for PPE;
• information and guidance on VTLs, both on the regulations and the recent court ruling on a challenge by industry to those regulations;
• changes to the Marine Terminals and Safety and Health Regulations for Longshoring provisions based on Phase III of the Standards Improvement Project;
• settlement agreement between the National Grain and Feed Association Inc. and OSHA;
• updated answers to commonly asked maritime cargo handling questions; and
• marine cargo handling safety and health information in a Web-based format with electronic links.

In 2010, seven workers died on the job in the marine cargo handling industry and approximately 2,900 suffered of injuries.

The Marine Terminals standards and the Longshoring standards are the two main standards that regulate the industry. To view OSHA’s Marine Industry standards and regulations, visit http://www.osha.gov/dts/maritime/index.html.

To view the directive, visit http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-00-154.pdf.

According to a recent AOPL survey, "spills from crude oil pipelines are down 70% over the last 10 years and spill volumes are down 40%. After an industry integrity management initiative, incidents caused by corrosion are down 73%, equipment failures down 50%, operational errors are down 40% and material and weld failures are down 30%."

The article below talks about the oil and natural gas industries and how they are focusing on safety and making it their No. 1 priority. As one of the highest regulated industries in the world, they have adopted a list of principles in agreement with the Association of Oil Pipe Liners and the American Petroleum Institute, as a foundation of culture standards to keep improving their safety methods:

1. Zero incidents: Pipeline operators believe that every incident is preventable and work to that high standard.
2. Organization-wide commitment: Safety is emphasized at every level of the organization.
3. A culture of safety: Pipeline operators embrace the need to provide a workplace culture where safety is an enduring value that all employees share.
4. Continuous improvement: Pipeline operators believe that no matter how safe they already are, they can always improve safety.
5. Learn from experience: Pipeline operators learn how they can improve safety from their own experiences and by sharing lessons learned industry-wide with other pipeline operators.
6. Systems for success: Management systems demonstrate that safety efforts are succeeding by measuring performance, tracking changes and confirming improvements.
7. Employ technology: Operators constantly research and develop new ways to maximize safety.
8. Communicate with stakeholders: Communicating with the public and stakeholders who value safety, from advocates to the government, is vital to improving safety.

To read the article, visit http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/oil-natural-gas-industries-take-steps-to-boost-safety-2f6bm8l-164809126.html.

For our readers in Florida: Early this week, the FDOT kicked off their safety campaign, “Safety Doesn’t Happen by Accident” in Tampa, FL to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety awareness. You can encounter their efforts through TV, social media, different transit advertising, enforcement, and education. Since Monday, frequent “alerts” are posted on their Facebook page with useful tips and important facts and statistics for everyone to know.

"We started yesterday on this test campaign in Hillsborough County because this area is double the national average when it comes to pedestrian fatalities," Kris Carson, FDOT spokesperson says. "We're working with law enforcement and we are advertising trying to get people more aware of pedestrian safety. This campaign is all about education, so we handed out shirts to the public yesterday and we were out on Fletcher and Fowler Avenues writing citations to people not following proper safety guidelines."

FDOT has a goal to reduce pedestrian fatalities by 20% by 2015; saving 15 lives per year. To do this, they have devised a multi-faceted solution that includes: engineering safer pedestrian walkways, educating pedestrians and motorists and enforcing laws more strictly.

Take a look at their campaign through their Facebook page HERE.

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